Pre migration questions

[skicomau]

Hi guys, sorry if this is the wrong forum, if so please move but there doesn't seem to be a forum for asking questions about features before you commit to install the software.

I am currently running UBB.threads and have done since before the dawn of time.  I am looking to migrate but I am looking for some specific features and am trying to work out if SMF offers them or not.  Most I have worked out SMF offers but 2 that are on the "would be really nice" list but not essential I cant work out if SMF supports either natively or via a mod.

1) Sig File permissions by group.  ie Only allow sig files to some usergroups or only allow links in some user group sig files.  Reason is I am looking at having "industry sponsor" option whereby an industry member can take part on our forum and they have essentially an ad in their sig file.  We have a strict "no commercial posts" rule on our forums but have an increasing number of industry people interested in posting but not wanting to be attacked by members for spamming.  If they were a clear "sponsor" the could be given more freedom.  Hence we need to be able to set some groups can have sig files and others can't or sig file permissions need to be changeable by group.  Is there something LIKE this in SMF or via a mod?

2) With the increase of affiliate programs people often review products (skis, snowboards, gloves, goggles etc) from their own experience and we would like to be able to keyword tag items to auto replace that text with an affiliate link so anyone interested can read the review, click the link and head off to buy it. (ie see the word Rossignol and replace it with Rossignol and a link to a shop where they can buy Rossi skis with our affiliate id embedded in it)

3) Integrated classifieds.  I have found the smf hackers site and their classifieds system.  Has anyone used this and how have they found it?  Is it a good classifieds system or a bit clunky?  We currently have a dedicated classifieds system but integrating it into the forums has a lot of benefits of integrating with the community and hence we are looking at a system like this as well.

Thanks

[Oldiesmann]

1. Not exactly. There is a mod which will allow you to specify which groups can have signatures ("Advanced Profile Permissions") and another which lets you limit signature links and images to those with a certain number of posts ("Prevent Adding Signature Images And Links"), but nothing exactly like what you want.

2. There isn't really anything like this for SMF. You could use the censored words feature for this, though that isn't really what it's designed for.

3. I've never used it, but it appears to be quite powerful and flexible from the demo on their site. I guess it mainly depends on your needs.

[skicomau]

OK thanks.

1) I assume you mean this one?
Additional Profile Permissions
http://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/index.php?mod=3237

I can't find "Advanced Profile Permissions" anywhere.

So I could setup that group to have sig files and then have the sponsors pay to be in that group - I seem to recall reading somewhere in here about being able to setup paid memberships that get assigned to a specific group.

If so that then that will do the job nicely.

2)  Does the censored word list "re-write" the word or does it parse it on display?  If the former it would probably be fine if the latter I am guessing it would be a bit server intensive.

3) Thanks I will go through the showcase and see if I can see some implementations of it.

Looks like we are 95% of the way there with this product to meet our needs - maybe closer - which would be the best match I have found!

Thanks again.

[Illori]

1. yes

2. yes it will rewrite the word as the post is submitted

[Kays]

2. yes it will rewrite the word as the post is submitted

Nope, It's done when the post is displayed.

[vbgamer45]

If you have questions on the Classifieds you can post on smfhacks.com have built the majority of the major commercial addons for SMF and I am open to feature requests/additions.

[skicomau]

Illori - rewritten on submission
Kays - no on display

Which is it and if the latter does it add significantly to processing load and page display time to parse each post for dozens of things to replace?

Thanks vbgamer45, I'll ask over there if there is a showcase because I have looked at about 40 from the showcase here and can't find one with the classifieds implemented.  Would be nice to see a few implementations of it.

[Kindred]

it does it on display (hence the fact that people can turn OFF the word censor)

However, it is not intended to be used as "inline link advertising"...   (for which I thanks the gods...  I despise those sort of link/ads)

[skicomau]

OK thanks.  Might have to look at a custom mod then.

You may despise them but when deployed well they can be very effective.  ie a review of a snow ski, the name of the ski provides the link to buy it with an embedded affiliate code.  If it just does random stuff all over the site by some third party picking up stuff then sure that is crap and drives you nuts but if deployed with thought on keywords of choice then it can be very smartly implemented and a nice product that actually provides a useful service to the visitor.  Deployed badly it is a disaster.

[Kindred]

meh....  You, of course, can run your site the way you want.

However, I will note that I (and my friends) tend to leave any site which uses them without sticking around to click or even trigger them.

[skicomau]

Fair enough but I have a site that has been around for 15 years with a forum and a large active community.  Having 20+ forums for a range of things to do with snow sports in Australia.  Having a "Equipment Review" forum where people can review gear they have used and having links to buy that gear from those threads hardly seems intrusive to me.

Epicski (the biggest snow sport online community in the world) has done it very well and seem to be doing very well out of it with no downturn in traffic.

It is all about how you go about it.  Your members don't want to be spammed but if they are looking at a review of a product then chances are they are probably looking to buy it if they like the review.  Hence it is as much a service as anything, not an intrusion.

Or I could run more ads ........

[Oldiesmann]

OK thanks.

1) I assume you mean this one?
Additional Profile Permissions
http://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/index.php?mod=3237

I can't find "Advanced Profile Permissions" anywhere.

So I could setup that group to have sig files and then have the sponsors pay to be in that group - I seem to recall reading somewhere in here about being able to setup paid memberships that get assigned to a specific group.

If so that then that will do the job nicely.

Yes, that's what I meant. Sorry for the confusion. However, that mod just lets you give or deny permission to edit the signature - it doesn't let you choose what tags they can use in their signature, so it might not do exactly what you want. However, now that I think about it, SMF does allow you to specify which bbcode tags someone can use in their signature, so once you have the ID of the group the paid members are in, it should be fairly easy to adopt that feature to your needs.

You are correct about the paid membership - SMF's paid subscriptions feature allows you to assign people to a specific usergroup when they purchase a subscription. It's the same feature that we use for the Charter Member program here.